Immigrant Council highlights examples of abuse on public transport

The Immigrant Council of Ireland has highlighted three case studies which illustrate the types of racism which are encountered by members of the public on the country’s transport networks.

A female in her 40s entered a bus, and without the intention to pay for her ticket she moved toward the centre of the vehicle. When the bus driver called the woman to pay the fare, she verbally abused him calling him racist names, and threw a box with leftovers of takeaway food at the driver.

A young female of African descent was traveling to college when a couple in their 20s started to call her racist names. The driver intervened, and asked the couple to stop the abuse or leave the bus. The couple initially complied but then the male opened a banana, he rubbed it in his victim’s hair, and ran away, with his female friend laughing and again racially abusing the victim.

A taxi driver of African descent reported that every time he is reaching the top of the queue at a taxi rank, he is passed by potential passengers four or five times before being hired. Some of the passengers call him racist names when passing by. The driver says if a non-African driver reaches the top of the queue they always get hired by the first passenger who approaches the taxi rank.